SPRING BREAK READING LIST LAUNCH

LAS COMADRES & FRIENDS NATIONAL LATINO BOOK CLUB

“Connecting Latinos all over the world through Literature”

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                                                           

March 10, 2016: Austin, TX—Las Comadres & Friends National Latino Book Club announces its first annual Spring Break Reading List to complement the Book Club’s monthly meetings and teleconferences; and keep in line with their mission to promote the work of Latina/o authors.

“As you take a Spring break to enjoy a week from the stresses of work and school,” said Edith Milagros Reyes, Book Club Project Manager, "we wanted to help you by taking the guesswork out of what book(s) to take on your upcoming getaway. This is also a great time to discover a Latino author or two, and be delighted with their amazing work.”

The Book Club’s Spring Break Reading List contains a “baker’s dozen” of books for readers of all ages. The List is an eclectic mixed of fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, poetry, young adult, children books. There’s a Spanish book, as well as a couple of bilingual books. The list holds some new books and a couple of classics; veteran authors and debut authors; and, a couple of Pura Belpre Award winners (Pam Muñoz Ryan and Meg Medina).

These books will transport readers from the bowels of a Chilean mine to a Barrio Blanco; from Brooklyn to Mexico; they’ll go from dancing with gypsies to fighting with dragons. And, if we do say so ourselves, all these books make great additions to any Easter and/or gift basket.

Las Comadres & Friends National Latino Book Club

2016 Spring Break Reading List – A Baker’s Dozen

1.      Deep Down Dark by Hector Tobar (non-fiction) – Picador Press

2.      Dragons, Beware! By Jorge Aguirre (children) – Roaring Brook Press

3.      El Murmullo de las Abejas by Sofia Segovia (fiction, Spanish) – Penguin Random House

4.      In Search of the Luminous Heart by Victoria Rivera McKinley (fiction) – John Hunt Publishing

5.      Gianna the Great by Becky Villareal (children) –Anaiah Adventures

6.      Look Both Ways in the Barrio Blanco by Judith Robbins Rose (children) – Candlewick Press

7.      Mango, Abuela and Me by Meg Medina (children) – Candlewick Press

8.      Rant. Chant. Chisme. By Amalia Ortiz (poetry) – Wings Press

9.      Running in Heels by Mary A. Perez (memoir) – Chart House Press

10.  The Dreamer by Pam Muñoz Ryan (fiction) – Scholastic Press

11.  The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore (young adult) – St. Martin’s Griffin

12.  Twain & Stanley Enter Paradise by Oscar Hijuelos (fiction) – Grand Central Publishing

13.  When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago (memoir) – Da Capo Press

The Comadres & Friends National Latino Book Club was founded in 2007 in partnership with the Association of American Publishers to promote reading of Latino authors. Membership is free and open to all readers. The Book Club is currently in 15 cities, with more cities to follow.

The Pura Belpré Awards are named after the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library, and presented annually to a Latina/o writer and illustrator. The award is co-sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children and REFORMA. For more information, visit http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/belpremedal.

For more information on Las Comadres & Friends National Latino Book Club and the

2016 Spring Break Reading List, email Maria Ferrer, Media Relations Coordinator, at mferrer.lcbookclub@gmail.com or visit www.latinolit.com.###

Las Comadres & Friends National Latino Book Club

www.latinolit.com

Twitter: @ReadLatinoLit

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Leadership Team

Edith M. Reyes, National Project Manager

Julia L. Abrantes, Literary Relations Coordinator

Maria C. Ferrer, Media Relations Coordinator